"Alaskan420" wrote in message
news:b3txi.28$wr3.22@trndny04...
Hi all,

My first post to this newsgroup. I have been perusing the posts for
several months now.

I couple of thoughts that I would like some general advice on please.


Within five years I would like to say goodbye to the sod forever.
I am now 46 years old. I am a sailor. I have held my MMD for over 22 years
now and I am an extremely proficient navigator with or without
electricity. (Yes, I can swing a sextant.)

However, except for a few short stints running supply boats out of New
Iberia and working on a few tourist boats in Boston and Key West, almost
all of my experience has been aboard ships. Not boats.

I have zero experience with sails. I wish to travel alone. I wish to not
be limited in where and what waters I travel.

Wanting to cruise and live aboard I am aware that a sailboat is far and
away my most self reliant and economical choice. I am looking mostly at
motorsailers when I drool over the "boats for sale".

So, the advice I need?

Advice #1: Take some sailing lessons at a respectable school. The issue is
not the piece of paper at the end of the class, but the quality of the
instructor and how you relate to the knowledge.

Size limits? Types of hulls and rigging to be seeking?

There are no real size limits, except for cost, but you'll find that most
people keep to under 40 feet for reasons none better than the ability to
handle the rig. Some research is in order to answer the question of hulls
and rigging. Typically, you have some basic choices, e.g., sloop vs. ketch
and mono vs. multi and fiberglass vs. steel vs. aluminum vs. wood.

Advice #2: Sail lots of different boats, new and old, with as many different
configurations as you can. You need hands on, practical experience to figure
out the kind of boat you want, quality vs. comfort (or both at the same
time in some cases).

Advice #3: After a couple of years of sailing, reassess your plans. Are you
still even interested in doing what you said you wanted to do at the onset?

Price ranges?

You can start with the very low end and fix it up, spending $1000s to do it
or you can start at the very top and not spend much to be done, and you can
find something in between (what I did).

How stupid would I be to consider purchasing a salvage or neglected vessel
and begin a five year rebuild?

Way stupid, but it sure is fun and you learn a heck of a lot! There's
nothing quite like making something work that didn't before.

I'm not a huge fan of motorsailers, but they have their place.

Thanks in advance...

Ric Hamel
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"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com